Expanding use.

• Autores: Mark Fischetti
• Localización: Scientific American, ISSN 0036-8733, Vol. 295, Nº. 1, 2006, págs. 94-95
• Idioma: inglés
• Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
• Resumen

  • This articles reports that implantation of stents--mesh cylinders that widen clogged arteries--is growing so fast that some doctors say the procedure is overused. The inserts have been evolving for 20 years and represent an alternative to more invasive open surgery. Balloon angioplasty is used to expand arteries to crack and compress plaque. Stents work like balloons, but they keep the artery open. The leading targets by far are the coronary arteries that feed blood to heart muscle, but other vessels are increasingly being serviced.